Why It Occurs and How to Prevent It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Crowmarsh Gifford
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? In that case set this page aside a moment, keep your ignition and motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. In Crowmarsh Gifford, finding it before your motor turns usually leaves a drain and a thorough flush where it stands. The rest of this page explains why it takes place and how to ensure it does not — useful if you are reading ahead of time.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel motor
Plenty of current diesels on the roads round Crowmarsh Gifford and Mongewell carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the motor. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There is a filler for every tank. On a lot of motors the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. Topping up the diesel side at the petrol pump happens constantly. The AdBlue side is filled far less frequently, usually from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. That gap is where the error lives.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank take place in Crowmarsh Gifford?
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low your car tells you, and if it runs out altogether, your vehicle drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off The Limes before work, or in the car park at The Queen's Head on the way home.
Then the car is new. A hire car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't, and the hand reaches for the cap it would have used on the old one.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, and so nothing stops the pour after it has started. Newnham Murren or the heart of Crowmarsh Gifford: it takes the same few seconds either way.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
A few seconds is all the checks take — so check them before you tip anything, on a driveway in Preston Crowmarsh or a forecourt around Crowmarsh Gifford.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is often blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap normally is not. Read it instead of going by where it sits.
- Many vehicles give AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Plenty of cars say there which fuel goes where.
- In your boot or under the bonnet: that's where your filler is if it's not by your diesel cap, and the handbook tells you which.
- Ask the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — when you collect a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park outside Cholsey.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
When the light goes on, wherever across Oxfordshire, use this routine.
- Stop somewhere level, motor off, with time to spare — never hurried on the side of Thamesmead.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once finding the AdBlue filler and reading it. Daft, yes, but it works.
- The two under one flap? Then make sure the lid on the diesel side stays shut before raising the bottle.
- Finish when that tank is topped up or the bottle is empty; until then, tip slowly using the own spout.
- Only then, start the car: close the cap, check again, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Don't carry on to stage five.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, around Crowmarsh Gifford?
What follows is a short order of things, starting with no starting the engine. Keep the ignition off as well, because on plenty of diesels switching it on by itself runs the pump. Diluting it with more diesel fails, since AdBlue settles to the base instead of blending — and that is where your fuel is drawn from.
The staff at Esso, BP or any forecourt will normally lend a hand pushing the car clear when asked. Your own driveway around Crowmarsh Gifford is the place it should stay.
If the engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. On the M40, under 10 miles from Crowmarsh Gifford, that means the next junction. Tell us about how far it went: a run towards Oxford, under 15 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Crowmarsh Gifford.
Crowmarsh Gifford: what happens when our technicians arrive
Wherever your car came to rest, be it outside Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England School, beside Saint Mary Magdalene or on your own drive, our van travels to it. Which liquid was put in, the quantity, and if it ran: our technicians ask because the replies decide the work and quote. No one sets off before you have had our quote by phone.
Draining your tank comes next, then a full flush of the system. Unlike petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and neither clears away unaided. Hence it counts more. Filter cleaned or, if needed, replaced; clean diesel in; then a check of your vehicle. Next our technicians fire it up and confirm it runs properly before leaving.
If your motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there, using pumps that are fine on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Crowmarsh Gifford itself
Crowmarsh Gifford is a village situated on the banks of the River Thames in Oxfordshire, with a mix of detached housing and a population of around 1026 residents. Crowmarsh Gifford lies approximately 12 miles south of Oxford and 43 miles west of London, making it a commuter-friendly location. Crowmarsh Gifford is surrounded by nearby places such as Newnham Murren, Wallingford, and Winterbrook, and its riverside setting provides scenic views and outdoor recreational opportunities. Crowmarsh Gifford has a relatively low elevation of 48 metres above sea level, typical of the Thames Valley area.
AdBlue drains across Oxfordshire, Crowmarsh Gifford included
Crowmarsh Gifford is a village, and the vans that cover it also work the places around it, Wallingford and Winterbrook among them, across the OX postcode area. Quickest of all: quote a OX10 8 postcode for our van.
Your car does not need to move. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Crowmarsh Recreation Ground, a side street near Crowmarsh Village Hall: our technicians drain the car where it is. If you are close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain like the back of Wallingford Rowing Club, ring and ask rather than guessing.
Crowmarsh Gifford motorists: the short version
Always, the cap; after that, the tip. If AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank all the same, leave the car off then call 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel drains it where it waits, anywhere across Oxfordshire.